Tag: Books

I did it! I fit an entire decade into two volumes. So you can buy my essays by the year or you can get the whole megillah all at once.

Omnibus Edition 1 covers 2010-2016

These essays were all written in the administration of Barrack Obama. They show a Republic Party that had been radicalized by the Tea Party movement, the Federalists, the NRA, and a web of Conservative think tanks and policy groups. Fundamentalists had their own influential groups that also worked with the Conservative web. It became clear that there was a concerted effort to put forth an firm agenda for the way Conservatives planned to steer government into the future. We came to know these agenda items as ‘talking points’. It also became clear that Republicans were looking for members who would lead aggressively and who would not put too fine a point on civility. The groundwork for this agenda was laid out before Obama won, but the obstructionism and the racism, the voter suppression, and the reactionary attitudes towards women and immigrants became Republican strategy and this strategy is still in use today. Conservatives seem dedicated to winning a final battle with liberalism, once and for all. As you read these essays you can watch this campaign unfold.

Omnibus Edition 2 with bonus material covers 2017-2020

Donald J. Trump was elected to be America’s 45 th President in 2016. He was inaugurated in 2017 and joined an elite club of men who have led American through good times and bad. From the beginning he seemed to deliberately govern America as if he were a king or a mafia don. He does not ever worry about representing all Americans. He is, clearly, the “Red State” President with his own supporters, his own media and his own agenda, which also includes helping the Republicans and the Fundamentalists accomplish their agenda when doing so suits his purposes.

What ensues in the first term of Trump is the subject of this book, which covers the essays I wrote during Trump’s first term in office. Since I would like to get these thoughts out in time to convince voters of how important it will be to replace the Republicans and Donald Trump with Democrats if we want our republic to survive, I had to publish before the end of 2020.

We are in the midst of trying to emerge from a pandemic and whether this virus is done with us or not remains to be seen. If there is a second wave of the virus we are unsure what will happen to the American economy. This administration does not value workers except as cogs in a Capitalist machine that drives the stock market. This is not an argument against Capitalism. It is an argument against a misguided ideology that divides people into winners and losers and plans to give the winners dominion over the losers.

I did not include all the interesting lists from editors, publisher’s and readers for Summer Reading suggestions but you might want to Google them. Some people like to choose a long and meaty selection that will occupy them for most of the summer, some people like lighter fare, such as romances or stories that happen near beaches, some want thrillers or detective stories. We are so rich in writers and good books that it should not be difficult to find something engrossing to read while you soak up sun (or lounge in dappled shade).

Amazon

Literature and Fiction

A Shout in the Ruins by Kevin Powers

Alternative Remedies for Loss by Joanna Cantor

Pretend I’m Dead by Jen Beagin

My Ex-Life: A Novel by Stephen McCauley

Tomb of the Unknown Racist by Blanche McCrary Boyd

The Mars Room: A Novel by Rachel Kusher

Warlight: A Novel by Michael Ondaatje

The Cactus by Sarah Haywood

Tin Man by Sarah Winman

Mr. Flood’s Last Resort by Jess Kidd

Love and Ruin by Paula McClain

Mysteries and Thriller

The Mars Room: A Novel by Rachel Kushner

Star of the North by D B John

It Ends with Her by Brianna Labuskes

The Favorite Sister by Jessica Knoll

Wicked River: A Novel by Jenny Milchman

How it Happened by Michael Koryta

The Dark Angel (Ruth Galloway Mysteries) by Elly Griffiths

Cult X by Fuminori Nakamura, Kalau Almony

Our Kind of Cruelty by Araminta Hall

The Outsider by Stephen King

A Million Drops by Victor de Ánbol, Lisa Dillman

Biographies and Memoirs

Paul Simon: The Life by Robert Hilburn

From Cold War to Hot Peace: An American Ambassador in Putin’s Russia by Michael McFaul

The Electric Woman: A Memoir of Death-Defying Acts by Tessa Fontaine

Robin by Dave Itzkoff

Figures in a Landscape: People and Places by Paul Theroux

Spring by Karl Ove Knausgaard

Tip of the Iceberg: My 3,000-Mile Journey Around Wild Alaska, The Last Great American Frontier by Mark Adams

The Destiny Thief: Essays on Writing, Writers and Life by Richard Russo

Kickflip Boys: A Memoir of Freedom, Rebellion, and the Chaos of Fatherhood by Neal Thompson

The Last Cowboys: A Pioneer Family in the New West by John Branch

Nonfiction

Talking to my Daughter About the Economy or, How Capitalism Works – and How it Fails by Yanis Varoufakis

Bull Shit Jobs: A Theory by David Graebar

Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey into the Heart of America by James Fellows, Deborah Fellows

Men in Blazers Present Encyclopedia Blazertannica: A Suboptimal Guide to Soccer, America’s Sport of the Future since 1972 by Roger Bennett, Michael Davies

Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics by Stephen Greenblatt PhD

The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli

The Vory: Russia’s Super Mafia by Mark Galeotti

The Perfectionists: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World by Simon Winchester

Sex Money Murder: A Story of Crack, Blood, and Betrayal by Jonathan Green

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou

Twilight of the Gods: A Journey to the End of Classic Rock by Steven Hyden

How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches us about Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression and Transcendence by Michael Pollan

Kickflip Boys by Neal Thompson

The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century by Kirk Wallace Johnson

Into the Raging Sea: Thirty-Three Mariner’s, One Megastorm and the Sinking of El Faro by Rachel Slade

Science Fiction and Fantasy

Only Human (The Themis Files) by Sylvain Neuvel

The Plastic Magician (A Paper Magician Novel) by Charlie N. Holmberg

Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young

Furyborn (The Empiricum Trilogy) by Claire Legrand

Medusa Uploaded (The Medusa Cycle) by Emily Devenport

In the Region of the Summer Stars (Eirlandia) by Stephen R. Lawhead

Dark Queen (Jane Yellowstone) by Faith Hunter

Artificial Condition: The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells

The Poppy War: A Novel by R F Kuang

King of the Ashes: Book One of the Firemane Saga by Raymond E Feist

Time Was by Ian McDonald

NY Times Book Review

Apr. 8

Fiction

The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer

Gun Love by Jennifer Clement

Alternate Side by Anna Quindlen

Tangerine by Christine Mangan

Nonfiction

Russian Roulette by Michael Isikoff and David Corn

Educated by Tara Westover

Blue Dreams by Lauren Slater

Never Remember by Masha Gessen and Misha Friedman

Alt-Right by Mike Wendling

No Turning Back by Rania Abouzeid

I Am I Am I Am by Maggie O’Farrell

The Food Explorer by Daniel Stone

The Making of a Dream by Laura Wides-Muñoz

Watch One with the Gipper: An Aide Recalls Movie Nights with the Reagans by Mark Weinberg

Here’s my February 2018 Book List. You can get a quick summary of any of the books on the list by looking the book up on Amazon, or at Barnes and Noble, or at your library, except for books to be published in the future. Both Publishers Weekly and New York Times Book Review give critiques of the books they list and have “buy this book” buttons.

Publisher’s Weekly

Jan. 8

The Immortalists: A Novel by Chloe Benjamin

Green: A Novel by Sam Graham-Felsen

Gnomen: A Novel Nick Harkaway

The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey

Fatal Discord: Erasmus, Luther, and the Fight for the Western Mind by Michael Massing (NF)

Red Sky at Noon: A Novel by Simon Sebag Montefiore

A State of Freedom: A Novel by Neel Mukherjee

Nice Try, Jane Sinner by Lianne Oelke (YA)

When Montezuma Met Cortés: The True Story of the Meeting that Changed History by Matthew Restall (NF)

Walking the Bones: A Ryan DeMarco Mystery by Randall Silvis

The Maze at Windermere by Gregory Blake Smith

1917: War, Peace, and Revolution by David Stevenson

Jan. 22

A Land of Permanent Goodbyes by Atia Abawi (Syria, YA)

Peach: A Novel by Emma Glass

The Wizard and the Prophet: Two Remarkable Scientists and their Dueling Visions to Shape Tomorrow’s World by Charles C. Mann (NF)

The Other Side of Everything by Lauren Doyle Owens

Anatomy of a Scandal: A Novel by Sarah Vaughan

Jan. 29

Set the World on Fire: Black Nationalist Women and the Global Struggle for Freedom by Keisha N Blain (NF)

This is What Happened (Novel) by Mick Herron

Tempest: Old West Book 3 by Beverly Jenkins (Romance)

This Will Be My Undoing: Living at the Intersection of Black, Female, and Feminist in (White) America by Morgan Jenkins (NF)

The Invention of Ana: A Novel by Mikkel Rosengaard

The Book of the Dead by Muriel Rukeyser (Poems)

The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke by Jeffrey C Stewart (Bio)

A More Beautiful and Terrible History: The Uses and Misuses of Civil Rights History by Jeanne Theoharis (NF)

Most Anticipated Books of Spring 2018 (Pub. Between Feb. and April)

Fiction

The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer

The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner

Circe by Madeline Miller

Speak No Evil by Uzodinma Iweala

Warlight by Michael Ondaatje

Mystery, Thriller, Crime

Green Sun by Kent Anderson

The President is Missing by Bill Clinton and James Patterson

The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz

Science Fiction

Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller (YA)

The Merry Spinster by Mallory Ortberg

Space Opera by Catherynne M Valente

Witchmark by CL Polk

Memoirs

The Recovering: Intoxication and Its Aftermath by Leslie Jamison

Brave by Rose McGowan

Eat the Apple by Matt Young

A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership by James Comey

Literary Essays (Criticism)/ Biography

Feel Free: Essays by Zadie Smith

How to Write an Autobiographical Novel: Essays by Alexander Chee

Sharp: The Women Who Made an Art of Having an Opinion by Michelle Dean

History

Beneath a Ruthless Sun: A True Story of Violence, Race, and Justice Lost and Found by Gilbert King

God Save Texas: A Journey into the Soul of the Lone Star State by Lawrence Wright

Set the World on Fire: Black Nationalist Women and the Global Struggle for Freedom by Keisha N. Blain

The Woman’s Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote by Elaine Weiss

Political/Current Events

China’s Great Wall of Debt: Shadow Banks, Ghost Cities, Massive Loans, and the End of the Chinese Miracle by Dinny McMahon

Fascism: A Warning by Madeline Albright

Political Tribes: Group Instinct and the Fate of Nations by Amy Chua

New York Times Book Review

Jan. 7th

Crime

Robicheaux by James Lee Burke

Beau Death by Peter Lovesey

The Body in the Casket by Katherine Hall Page

Dead Man’s Blues by Ray Celestin

Fiction

Three Floors Up by Eshkol Neva (Israeli)

Solar Bones by Mike McCormack

The King is Always Above the People by Daniel Marcón

The Floating World by C. Morgan Babst

Continental Fiction

How to Behave in a Crowd by Camille Bordas

Yiza by Michael Köhlmeier, Trans by Ruth Martin

Lea by Pascal Mercier, Trans by Shaun Whiteside

Uncertain Glory by Joan Sales, Trans by Peter Bush

Nonfiction

The Written World: The Power of Stories to Shape People, History, Civilization by Martin Puchner

The Social Life of Books: Reading Together in the Eighteenth Century Home by Abigail Williams

Texas Blood by Roger D. Hodges

Ghost Empire by Richard Fidler

Seduced by Mrs. Robinson by Beverly Gray

Playing with Fire by Lawrence O’Donnell

Enemies and Neighbors by Ian Black

Anesthesia: The Gift of Oblivion and the Mystery of Consciousness by Kate Cole Adams

Column of Fire by Ken Follett is the third book in the Kingsbridge Series and my least favorite of the three. It’s not that it was difficult or did not tell a story. It was not so terrible that it made me set it aside or stop reading. I liked the fictional characters placed among the actual historical figures enough to wonder what would happen to them but I did not feel strongly invested in them. I always realized they were fictional and there to involve the reader in the events occurring in the mid 1500’s and beyond in England, France, Spain, and the Netherlands.

Religion was the key issue of these times after the declarations of Martin Luther and the beginnings of a Protestant movement that was growing and alarming Catholics. Protestants thought they could talk directly to God without a priest as intermediary. They published Bibles in national languages, rather than Latin, so people could read the Bible by themselves or in church services. They did not feel any allegiance to the Pope in Rome. Catholics saw Protestants as heretics and felt it their religious duty to crush them and their interpretation of Christianity. As Column of Fire begins Protestants are hunted by Catholics, considered criminals by royals, and must practice their religion in secrecy. But this book also covers the pivotal moment when events, especially in England, turned this dynamic around. By the end of the story Catholics are on the defensive and, at least in England, Protestants can worship without fear.

Since England had recently lost Queen Mary Tudor, a strongly Catholic queen, there were two women who could possible take the throne, Elizabeth Tudor, tolerant of Protestantism, and Mary Queen of Scots, strongly Catholic. The story of how Elizabeth took the throne and how she held it against Catholic sympathizers who stood to lose both their brand of religion and lots of power and money has fascinated readers for centuries. Elizabeth held her throne with the help of talented spies and one of these spies was William Cecil.

Ned Willard becomes one of Cecil’s spies, moving in and out of France, with family in Spain for a while (Barney Willard), who later becomes a shipper and a ship’s captain adding more clout to Ned Willard’s information network. There is a villain, in fact there are two and they are just about as hateful as you would like them to be. Pierre Armande de Guise is an ambitious, soulless creature who uses information he steals through his first wife Sylvie Palot, a list of important Protestants in Paris, to ingratiate himself with the de Guise family and to realize his life time ambition of being a royal (however tangentially). Rollo Fitzgerald, brother of Ned’s first love Margery trains a group of sinister priests and hides them in English households for when Mary Queen of Scots takes the throne from Elizabeth, and an invasion plan is afoot.

Even with the historical drama of this critical time in Europe the book never really taps into that drama. Women are expendable and are damaged by the villains but few men are and there is just little tension and fright in most of the telling of this story. Fortunes do switch from the Catholic Fitzgeralds to the Protestant Willards but Ned is never in any real danger and seems more like a nice guy than a spy. So, what we get in Column of Fire by Ken Follett is a good story, but not a great story.

Books seem to be available so quickly that the topics authors have written about this month are still trending on social media and in the news. Some books are self-published and the turnaround on that can happen fast, but even books from publishers seem to arrive on the market faster than they once did. You will find lots of nonfiction titles in this list that talk about Russia and obviously the news is the source of interest for that subject. You will also find books that may have been timed to appear close to Halloween. And you will find new books by popular authors also in this lengthy book list. Once again, I will have to choose selectively for my future reading endeavors as there are too many titles to cover. This time I find myself attracted to some of the biographies and memoirs.

November Editor’s Picks

Vacationland by John Hodgman (NF)

The City of Brass by SA Chakraborty

The Vanity Fair Diaries 1883-1992 by Tina Brown

An American Family by Khzir Khan

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

Everything is Awful and Other Observations by Matt Bellassai

In the Midst of Winter by Isabel Allende

Literature and Fiction

Hiddensee: A Tale of the Once and Future Nutcracker by Gregory McGuire

Heather, the Totality by Matthew Weiner

Future Home of the Living God: A Novel by Louise Erdrich

The Revolution of Marina M: A Novel by Janet Fitch

The End We Start From by Megan Hunter

Wonder Valley by Ivy Pochoda

Hunter of Stories by Eduardo Galeano, Mark Fried

Mysteries and Thrillers

The Unclaimed Victim by DM Pulley

The House of Unexpected Sisters (The New Ladies #1 Detective Agency Novel) by Alexander McCall Smith

The Midnight Child (Jack Reacher) by Lee Child

Hardcore Twenty Four by Janet Evanovich

Artemis: A Novel by Andy Weir

The Quantum Spy: A Thriller by David Ignatius

The Extraditionist (A Benn Bluestone Thriller) by Todd Merer

End Game (Will Robie Series) by David Baldacci

The Rooster Bar by John Grisham

Wonder Valley: A Novel by Ivy Pochoda

Typhoon Fury by Clive Cussler

Science Fiction and Fantasy

The Sisters of the Crescent Empress by Leena Likitalo

Artemis: A Novel by Andy Weir

The Nine (Thieves of Fate) by Tracy Townsend

Biographies and Memoirs

An American Family by Khizer Khan

Gold Dust Woman: The Biography of Stevie Nicks by Stephen Davis

The Ghost: The Secret Life of CIA Spy Master James Jesus Angleton by Jefferson Morley

The Vanity Fair Diaries 1985-1992 by Tina Brown

Sticky Fingers: The Life and Times of Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone Magazine by Joe Hagan

Another month, another book list. So many books, so little time. However having too many books on our book list is never a bad thing, sort of like a buffet can never have too many offerings. Amazon, this month, listed all the new fall books with publication dates, so some of the titles on the Amazon list are not yet available. Just a reminder that books make great gifts.

Aug. 11

A Kind of Freedom by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton

A Doll for the Throwing by Mary Jo Bang (book length sequence of prose poems)

The Girl with Kaleidoscope Eyes (A Stewart Hoag Mystery) by David Handler

Notes on a Foreign Country: An American Abroad in a Post-American World by Suzy Hansen

Ghost of the Innocent Man: A True Story of Trial and Redemption by Benjamin Rachlin

The House of Government: A Saga of Russian Revolution by Yuri Slezkine

Fog by Miguel de Unamuno, trans. from the Spanish by Elena Barcia

Aug 18th

Stay With Me: A Novel by Ayobami Adebayo

Shooting Ghosts: A US Marine, a Combat Photographer, and their Journey Back from War by Thomas J. Brennan and Finbarr O’Reilly (NF)